Cryptocurrencies Represent the Largest Ponzi Scheme Ever Seen

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Cryptocurrencies Represent the Largest Ponzi Scheme Ever Seen</strong>

Ben McKenzie, actor and regular critic of crypto assets, showed, once again, his aversion to digital currencies on Wednesday.

The cryptocurrency market is growing twice as fast as the internet industry grew from 1990 to 2000; Bitcoin is the fastest growing asset in the last decade, and the Ethereum platform is currently growing twice as much in usage as Bitcoin.

This may be the perfect scenario for Ponzi scheme professionals, as people have learned that cryptocurrency investments have generated fortunes in a relatively short period of time. Such growth comes to be used as a flag in Ponzi schemes to convince multiple victims to fall into fraudulent traps: participating in them is a guarantee of losing all the resources invested.

They normally work with traditional currencies, but now these fraudsters are even posing as cryptocurrency investors. Therefore, anyone interested in investing in virtual assets must be careful to differentiate between direct investment in cryptocurrencies and investment in a Ponzi scheme ‘disguised’ as cryptocurrency investments.

Related to the above mentioned, there is the fact that the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies continues to be debated and if there are supporters, there are even more critics. While the greats in the sector defend them tooth and nail, others like Ben McKenzie do not hide their skepticism. Known as a staunch critic of digital assets, the actor returns to give his opinion on the ecosystem.

Cryptocurrencies, The Biggest Scam in History, According to Ben McKenzie

Ben McKenzie, actor and regular critic of crypto assets, made a statement on Wednesday once again showing his aversion to digital currencies. Testifying before the US Senate Banking Committee, McKenzie compared cryptocurrency to Bernie Madoff’s fraud. According to him, they represent the biggest Ponzi scheme the world has ever seen.

This statement adds to a climate of growing uncertainty. Between the monumental drop in token prices and that of exchanges, investors are gradually losing faith. For crypto skeptics, the very operation of cryptocurrency sufficiently shows its limits. Thus, for McKenzie, a space that only works thanks to the funds contributed by new clients cannot achieve anything concrete.

Although many people do not agree with this opinion, it should be noted that the volatility of crypto assets is causing panic. While bitcoin (BTC) was trading above $60,000 in November 2021, it is now struggling to reach $18,000.

However, even if cryptocurrencies do not have unanimous support, they continue to trade and attract new customers. Between individuals and institutions, the sector is gaining new customers despite everything. Although Ben McKenzie does not hold these assets close to his heart, he nevertheless acknowledges that cryptocurrency highlights the many flaws in the banking system.

By Audy Castaneda

Brazil Could Launch its Real Digital integrated with Defi in 2024 Cryptocurrencies and ICOs

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Brazil Could Launch its Real Digital integrated with Defi in 2024 Cryptocurrencies and ICOs</strong>

Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank of Brazil, has hinted at a possible launch of the coin in 2024.

Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank of Brazil, stated that the Real Digital project, the digital currency of the Brazilian central bank (CBDC) could be launched in 2024. Campos Neto also commented on the benefits that the digital currency system could bring, since it is integrated with traditional financial structures and decentralized financial institutions (DeFi).

Roberto Campos Neto: Digital Real Possibly Ready in 2024

Brazil is one of the countries that has made significant progress in the field of central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the last year. While there is currently no official date for the issuance of the digital real, Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank of Brazil, has hinted at a possible launch of the coin in 2024.

At an event on December 13, Campos Neto said that “In 2024, I would like to have a release. There are still many challenges to get to this schedule, but this is our vision, our goal.”

Campos Neto believes that this is possible if the real digital test run begins and ends in 2023. However, he also acknowledges that there are many challenges on the roadmap that could delay the completion of the project.

Digital Real will integrate DeFi in Brazil

Campos Neto also referred to the integration of the digital real with other traditional and decentralized financial-based structures. One of the tasks that the bank is focusing on is the implementation of a model that includes the digital reality with Open Finance, a model that encourages sharing data, products, and services between regulated entities.

This would mean that Brazilians would only need one super app to manage all their financial instruments, including real digital tokenized bank deposits and also cryptocurrency holdings. It is not the first time that Campos Neto refers to this concept. In November, Campos Neto also referred to a super app that would encompass all the functionalities of traditional and legacy financial instruments in a common hub.

Finally, Campos Neto asserts that the programmable nature of the digital real will allow its integration with new structures that could unite payment systems such as Pix with Web3 ecosystems. In this regard, he stated the following:

“It is very important that it is programmable so that you can add new functionalities, in PIX, in theory, you can put a smart contract on top of it.”

It should be noted that in March, the country chose nine partners to collaborate in the development of the digital currency. When the CBDC is issued, Brazil will join the Bahamas, Nigeria, Eastern Caribbean, and Jamaica as the countries with their own CBDCs. Dozens of other countries are exploring the new technology, while some are more determined to start using one, as a risk-free alternative to cryptocurrencies, after the FTX exchange bankruptcy rocked the entire industry.

By Audy Castaneda

Binance Behavior Is Different from FTX before Crash, Report Says

Audy Castañeda
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CryptoQuant analysts concluded that Binance is far from being the next FTX.

CryptoQuant analysts have concluded that Binance is far from becoming the next FTX. The report may put an end to the FUD seen around the exchange in recent days.

The exchange led by Changpeng Zhao became the center of attention of the crypto market this week, even with SBF’s arrest order. In addition to the fact that its financial reserves were called into question, there was speculation that the company and its CEO could be sued for money laundering in the United States.

With FUD growing among users, Binance has had to deal with abnormal withdrawal volume in recent days, with many questioning whether the move could trigger a liquidity crisis similar to the one that caused FTX to crash.

For the CryptoQuant analysis team, this is very unlikely to happen. Examining the on-chain data, the analysts came to the conclusion that the external audit on Binance’s reserves corresponds to the truth:

“At the time of the Binance Proof of Reserves report, CryptoQuant’s estimate of Binance’s BTC reserves (liabilities) was 591,939 BTC. This compares to the PoR report’s Customer Responsibility Report balance of 597,602 BTC. We can see that the CryptoQuant data covered 99% of Binance’s liabilities.”

Differences Between Binance and FTX

The Seoul-based analytics firm claims that the high volume of withdrawals that have occurred on Binance in recent days is nowhere near in proportion to that experienced by FTX in the days leading up to its bankruptcy.

This is consistent with CZ’s comment that the amount withdrawn by users doesn’t reach the top five in the company’s history, which even needed to process more withdrawals during the FTX and Terra (LUNA) crashes.

Another difference between the exchanges is the level of exposure to their native tokens. The report states that 88.95% of Binance’s reserves are “clean.” That is, they are not tied to the BNB value. In comparison, other major exchanges such as Huobi, Bitfinex, and Kucoin have 56%, 66.5%, and 81.64% of their reserves cleared, respectively.

On-chain data still shows company CZ has increased its Bitcoin (BTC) reserves by 4% since its rival’s crash, even as it has decreased its amounts in Ethereum (ETH) by 6% and stablecoins by 15%.

Are String Numbers Reliable?

Hochan Chung, CryptoQuant’s head of marketing, says that even those who do not trust the numbers published by Binance can rely on the chain’s data to learn the current exchange situation.

Despite demonstrating that the funds are there, on-chain data cannot monitor corporate management of them. In the case of FTX, there have been several accountings and tax cover-ups involving the exchange and its associated company, Alameda Research, with Alameda using the assets of FTX clients in its operations, as the SEC recently noted.

It remains to wait for the next updates on Binance to see if the world’s largest exchange will be able to survive the current turmoil or follow in the footsteps of its former competitor.

By Audy Castaneda

Hal Finney’s Wife Fran Activates Her Husband’s Twitter Account to Protect her from ‘Being Purged’ By Elon Musk

Audy Castañeda
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Hal Finney’s Wife Fran Activates Her Husband’s Twitter Account to Protect her from ‘Being Purged’ By Elon Musk

The information matches Elon Musk’s claim that Twitter would remove 1.5 million non-active Twitter names on December 9.

On December 16, 2022, bitcoin advocate Jameson Lopp tweeted a strong message allowing people to recognize that Hal Finney’s Twitter account was active. The tweet drew a response from the Twitter account @halfin, which revealed why Finney’s account was active once again.

Thus, the Twitter account of one of Bitcoin’s biggest historical figures has just come back to life after more than a decade of inactivity. “I’m Fran Finney,” Hal Finney’s Twitter user @halfin tweeted on Friday. “I’m tweeting for Hal to avoid his account being purged by Elon.”

The information matches Elon Musk’s claim that Twitter would remove 1.5 million non-active Twitter names on December 9. After Musk’s statements, a variety of extended bitcoin advocates noted that Finney’s account would no doubt be removed and they pleaded with him to protect it.

About Harold Finney II

Harold Finney II was a computer systems researcher, credited for being one of the first people to use the Bitcoin software program, when Satoshi Nakamoto released it in January 2009.

Finney established a recyclable proof-of-work (PoW) plan in 2004. In March 2013, he went on bitcointalk.org, and informed people that he was disabled due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

About Finney’s Twitter Account

Bush Fund’s previous supervisor, Martin Shkreli, shared an authorized message related to an address connected to Finney. The message was linked to the address Hal used to obtain 10 BTC from Satoshi Nakamoto, which said the transaction “was made by Paul Leroux to Hal Finney on January 12, 2009.”

The sudden resurgence of Finney’s Twitter account took some by surprise. Jameson Lopp, co-founder, and CEO of Bitcoin wallet and security company Casa, initially suggested the account may have been compromised, after realizing he had recently followed his own Twitter account.

However, others were quick to point out that Finney’s account may have been reactivated by someone in control to prevent “Elon from purging it.” Hal’s wife, Fran Finney, herself confirmed that this was indeed the case.

It is not known if anyone has connected with Fran Finney directly regarding these strange address endings and whether she knows why a person might have access to the exclusive secrets.

Shkreli told software programmer Greg Maxwell that he was preparing to connect with the Finneys to inquire about the exclusive secrets. The questionable Shkreli, however, did not reveal exactly how he received the message that made use of an old address from 2009, with a mention of Paul Le Roux.

By Audy Castaneda

Donald Trump’s NFT Collection Sold out in Record Time and the Price Skyrockets

Audy Castañeda
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0
<strong>Donald Trump’s NFT Collection Sold out in Record Time and the Price Skyrockets</strong>

A buyer came to pay 7 thousand dollars for a Trump in a suit, tie, and Christmas hat.

The first NFT collection of the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, sold out within 24 hours, while some of the pieces are now being offered at exorbitant prices.

The collection pieces were announced by Trump himself, through his social network Truth Social. In total, it is made up of 45,000 NFTs. The tycoon foreshadowed, in that ad, the rate of sale:

“It would make a great Christmas present. Don’t wait. They will go, I think, very quickly!”

The initiative portrays the 45th president of the United States in various and fun facets. He can be seen depicted as a superhero, a baseball player, a cowboy, and of course, wearing a black suit and gold bars.

Trump’ NFTs

The launch of the NFT collection comes a month after Donald Trump revealed his intention to win a second presidential term in the United States elections to be held in 2024.

Each NFT doubles as a ticket to enter prizes, including a 1-on-1 matchup with the billionaire and former president. According to the project’s official page, the holders of 45 of the cards are “guaranteed” a dinner with Trump in Florida. Each piece was offered for a starting price of $99.

Evidently, the project aroused such interest that, within hours, the available parts were selling like hotcakes. The announcement about the absolute sale is made by the official website itself.

NFT Price

Based on data emerging from the OpenSea marketplace, sales of Trump’s NFTs have already generated a volume of 1,174 ETH, or more than $1.4 million.

Once the completed operations have been checked, the collection adds up to more than 1,400 holders. These data were revealed by the market together with the note on the presence of whales. According to a report by The Block, some 34 wallets contain 100 or more items from the collection. The OpenSea figures also suggest that 1,000 of the NFTs were distributed to a single wallet, hours before the public sale.

The second largest holder currently owns 673 NFTs from the collection. To all this, some pieces seem to be trading very, very, above their initial sale prices. According to OpenSea, a card depicting Trump in a suit, tie, and Christmas hat sold this Friday for 6 ETH, or just over $7,000.

Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser to Trump, said on a radio show Thursday that Trump should fire whoever advises him on this “immediately.”

The original profit estimate for the NFT creators was around $4.5 million, and it’s still unclear if Trump will receive any profit from sales.

By Audy Castaneda

Satoshi Nakamoto: Who is the Inventor of Bitcoin?

Audy Castañeda
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0
<strong>Satoshi Nakamoto: Who is the Inventor of Bitcoin?</strong>

One of the first major public investigations ended with Dorian Nakamoto being identified as Bitcoin’s creator, but he continues to decline the claim.

Wrinkled shirt, old jeans, white sports socks, no shoes; so is presumably Satoshi Nakamoto, a 64-year-old electrical engineer who makes a living as a poll worker and substitute teacher, father of six, modest circumstances, no shoes.

Visibly taken by surprise, Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, namesake, was identified by Newsweek magazine in Los Angeles in 2014 as the alleged mastermind behind Bitcoin. He was as surprised as the rest of the world. Nakamoto says that he had never heard of cryptocurrencies before, and there is no evidence of a connection.

Several names have been spotted as the alleged creator of Bitcoin. Let’s have a look at three of them.

Flashy parallels?

Pioneer of smart contracts and creator of the “Bit Gold” cryptocurrency, which was conceived in 1998, but ultimately never implemented, Nick Szabo has what it takes to speculate.

Nowadays, it is considered likely that the computer scientist was involved in some way in the development of Bitcoin, although he doesn’t want to be Satoshi Nakamoto, despite some similarities between Bitcoin and Bit Gold, especially in the choice of words in the White Paper.

When asked who he thinks Satoshi Nakamoto could be, at least Elon Musk thought the 58-year-old crypto luminary was a fit. However, as a figurehead, Szabo, who has become increasingly entangled in far-right conspiracy theories in recent years, does not cut a good figure.

The First Bitcoin Receiver

In addition to Szabo, one name keeps popping up in the inner circle of suspects: Hal Finney, recipient of the first Bitcoin transaction in 2009. There is evidence that the software developer was involved in the development of the Bitcoin code, such as messages between him and Satoshi Nakamoto on the BitcoinTalk forum.

However, until his death in 2014, Hal Finney, who spent most of his Bitcoin on medical bills due to his ALS illness, denied being the inventor of Bitcoin. On the other hand, it is indisputable that he was an important person in the genesis of Bitcoin.

Fake It till You Make it

Craig Wright is probably the most recalcitrant example among the self-proclaimed inventors of Bitcoin. PhDs in computer science, economics, and theology, masters in statistics and international business law, author, speaker, ambitious Charlie Sheen double, and creator of Bitcoin.

Craig Wright is a true all-rounder, who collects academic titles as if these were stamps, he says. The eccentric Australian, who made a lot of money mining in his early years, would also like to join the cause of Nakamoto’s work.

The alleged evidence was vandalized in the Bitcoin community. But that didn’t stop Craig Wright from implementing what he believed to be the real version of the Bitcoin Blockchain with “Bitcoin Satoshi Vision.”

By Audy Castaneda

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